Project Description
A multigenerational campus over 12,000m2 combining early years, primary, secondary and ASN education facilities on a green field site. The project is LEIP funded, with numerous stakeholders and a wide team involved. The building has been designed to meet the Passivhaus Standard which will ensure compliance for the secured LEIP funding and involves very high levels of insulation, an airtight building fabric, and a mechanical ventilation system with highly efficient heat recovery. When complete, the project will be the first school built to Passivhaus standards in the Highlands. The new building will replace Knockbreck and Craighill primary schools and Tain Royal Academy, as well as local Gaelic schools and St Duthus special school.
Our Role / Scope
As independent cost advisors we delivered Cost Planning, Value Management and Engineering, Risk Management support, and Whole Life Analysis throughout the development phase, working closely with all team members and leading on specific aspects. D+S were also involved pre-contract in producing NRM compliant pricing documents to aid in more accurate competitive pricing of works at tender stage than typical contract sum analysis generally allow. Post contract Doig and Smith are providing full QS services which include undertaking monthly valuation and cost reporting, as well as involvement in commercial aspects of value engineering processes, and the impacts of fluctuation clauses which are included within the construction contract.
Technical Capacity
The team comprised of the following:
- Project Director
- Lead Quantity Surveyor
- Quantity Surveyor
Why Relevant
As a Passivhaus project we were able to deploy our expertise in an environment of complexity and ambitious design. In addition, part of the Whole Life Assessment tool affords a comparison of the carbon usage through construction and in-use (including a calculation for embodied carbon); we were able to provide narrative and direction on what the Whole Life outcomes meant to the client team to enable decision making.
Benefits to Client
- Our understanding of the requirements for appropriate Whole Life Costing and how the process for authoring and delivering this assessment meant that we were able to lead this workstream and engage with appropriate stakeholders (e.g. Energy teams) in order to provide accurate analysis.
- An appreciation of the requirements and demands of Passivhaus construction. How these additional requirements over standard building regulations impact time, cost, and quality of a project from the early stages and throughout. At all stages of the project D+S have had Passivhaus certified staff directly involved.
- Involvement with Value Engineering exercises post contract, scrutiny of contractor costs in relation to the same, as well as thorough reviews and interrogation of cost sensitive contractor proposals and commercial impact of client changes/design development.
- Post contract scrutiny of fluctuations claims put forward by the contractor, providing relevant advice and guidance to the client on value for money, allowing the client to make an informed decision related to the outcome of fluctuations generally.